A. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention relates generally to apparatuses, systems and methods for producing rotational torque through an output shaft so the rotating shaft may be utilized to generate electricity or operate machines. More particularly, the present invention relates to such apparatuses that are generally configured as a micro-hydroelectric generator and systems and methods that use such generators to generate electricity or operate pumps or other machines. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to such apparatuses that are relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, require little ongoing maintenance and are efficient at producing rotational torque.
B. Background
Motors and other machines for converting a source of input energy to an output in the form of rotational torque that is delivered through an output shaft have been generally available for many years. The rotational torque at the output shaft is commonly utilized to produce electricity via a generator or power a pump, grinding wheel or other machine, turn a wheel and operate other devices. The input energy for such machines has been provided by people, animals, moving water, gravity, blowing wind, fossil fuels, nuclear materials and a variety of other sources. Over the years, there has been a desire to have machines which utilize energy from readily available, clean and renewable sources, such as water, wind or the sun, instead of using the limited more polluting sources of energy, such as petroleum, coal, uranium and the like. With regard to machines which use the power of moving water or wind, these machines are generally configured to result in a force differential, provided by the force of the moving water or wind, on opposite sides of the machine's wheel or fan blades in order to rotate a shaft that is fixedly connected to the wheel or fan blades. The ideal configuration for such machines is to have as much of a force imbalance as possible on opposite sides of the wheel or fan blades so that the machine will generate the maximum amount of rotational torque at the output shaft. In general, the various components of these water or wind powered machines are beneficially shaped and configured in an attempt to achieve this objective.
With regard to generating electricity, apparatuses, systems and methods for converting a source of energy to useful power for generating electricity have been generally available for many years. A common arrangement for generating electricity is a large power plant that delivers the produced electricity to the end user over long distance, often very long distance, transmission lines. As is commonly known, such power plants are very complicated and very expensive, requiring large capital investment in the power plant and the transmission lines. Presently, most large power plants rely on traditional sources of energy, such as oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear, stored water and the like to produce electricity. There is a strong effort to provide alternative apparatuses and systems to power machines, particularly generators for producing electricity, that utilize energy sources which have less environmental impact, generally by being more readily available, cleaner and, preferably, renewable. For instance, many people and organizations have been attempting to utilize wind, solar, tidal and geothermal resources as a source of power to operate generators for the production of electricity. Although such sources of energy have been well known and, to some extent, in use for many years, it has only been relatively recent that substantially increased efforts have been directed towards improving the efficiency of these energy systems so they may be capable of generating more electricity. Currently, such alternative energy systems are a relatively small percentage of the total electricity production.
In general, the increased push for apparatuses and systems that generate electricity without utilizing conventional, non-renewable and polluting energy sources is a direct result of an increase in the number of devices which are powered by electricity, such as computers, air conditioning, vehicles, audio systems, kitchen appliances and a vast number of other devices, and the rapid expansion in the number of people who desire to utilize such devices. As is well known in the art, the increase in the supply of electricity to meet this demand will have to be supplied by those apparatuses and systems that are available, which, at least presently, primarily rely on hydrocarbon-based fuels. In general, as the need for electricity increases, the supply of fuel to produce electricity is further reduced, the environmental impacts of utilizing certain fuels worsen and the cost of using electricity increases. Most experts expect that the demand for electricity will substantially increase during the foreseeable future. In addition, consumers generally expect that electricity will be available to them when they need it, whether to operate an appliance, energize a light source, operate a machine, provide power to operate motor vehicles and other uses.
Although electricity is most often produced and provided to the public by large power plants via long distance transmission lines, as set forth above, there is a strong desire by many people for the apparatuses, systems and methods that are able to generate electricity at or very near the location where it will be utilized. One advantage of such electricity production is that it eliminates the requirement to transmit electricity over long distances, thereby eliminating the cost to build long distance transmission lines, the cost of acquiring the right-of-way for the land and the use of the land to support those lines. For areas that are somewhat off of the normal power grid, the cost of building the necessary transmission lines and the cost to maintain those lines can be significant. To be effective, however, an apparatus, system and method for localized production of electricity must be of sufficient size to supply the desired amount of electricity and must be able to reliably supply that electricity. Presently, small wind, water and solar generators and generating systems for localized production of electricity are generally not widely utilized.
What is needed, therefore, is an improved apparatus for producing rotational torque that can be utilized to generate electricity and operate pumps and other machines and improved systems and methods of producing rotational torque that utilizes such apparatuses. The new apparatus should be configured to rotate a shaft that can be connected to an electrical generator, pump or other machine to accomplish useful work, such as generating electricity, pumping water or the like. The new system and method of the present invention should be configured to utilize the new apparatus to accomplish the desired work. In a preferred configuration, the new apparatus, system and method should generally be configured to utilize the force of moving liquid, such as water, to rotate a propellor or like device attached to a shaft so as to rotate a shaft for localized generation of electricity or operation of a pump or other machine. Preferably, the new apparatus is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, requires little ongoing maintenance and is efficient at producing rotational torque.